Comedy break

Members of the Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company spent their spring break in Chicago doing what performers do best—gig after gig. There was the one they’ve been doing for three years now, a show for the family and friends of Grace McQueeny ’14, a psychology major from the Windy City. Then it was off to the Gorilla Tango Theatre, a spot known for live theatrical comedy shows, and later to the Cornservatory, a Chicago performance and improv spot currently hosting Batman-Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Star Wars (Verily, a New Hope), and work from a group called Deathprov.

But Burpee Meghan Callahan ’14, an English major from Centennial, Colo., says one of the group’s favorite Chicago shows took place at a hip, but cryptic, comedy club with an off-color name and a secret location. It has a well-established reputation in Chicago comedy circles, but to find it, you need to know someone who’s already been there, because the address is never published. In fact, even performers don’t know the exact location of the Theatre We Shall Not Name until they are met at a predetermined spot and guided to the location by a performer in-the-know. But all the secrecy doesn’t stop the crowds from gathering and laughing. In fact, the night the Burpee’s performed, alumna Kaitlyn Grissom ’12 was there, too, doing a little stand-up comedy.

At every show throughout the Burpee’s Chicago tour, Denison alumni and fellow DU spring breakers were on hand to cheer the performers from venue to venue. They’re all back on campus now, along with their classmates who spent spring break doing everything from sunning themselves in some tropical locations, to working for some extra money, to performing service projects.

The final Burpee’s show of the year will take place on April 27, and it will be the first time that the new crop of first-year Burps get to perform for a live audience. Come watch the seniors’ swan song and check out the next gen, who are hoping to make the spring Chicago sojourn an annual affair.